They've been Lightning teammates for 10 seasons. Seven years ago, they took turns lifting the Stanley Cup. Last season, they took turns wondering whatever happened to those days, or if they'd play again in Tampa, or wanted to if things stayed bad.

Well, it's playoff season, and here are Marty and Vinny, driving toward the show, on the same line for the first time in two years, reading each other's minds, making plays, flying, scoring, smiling — together.

It's Game 1 tonight in Pittsburgh for the Lightning, who haven't been to the postseason in four years and haven't won a playoff series since the night they won Stanley. These Bolts will lean heavily on two men who've been there, done that.

St. Louis, 35, but ridiculously ageless, is a legitimate Hart Trophy candidate, with 99 points this season, second in the NHL, with a career-high 68 assists. Lecavalier, who turns 31 this month, the team captain since he was like 11, has recaptured some of the magic that once made him a true star, with 17 goals and 30 points in the season's final 28 games.

"He's a menace out there, an offensive menace, a defensive menace," Boucher said of Lecavalier. "His hits look like normal hits, but guys are folding like accordions. He has a presence right now that's crucial to our team."

Marty and Vinny, together again and feeling it.

"I think like the last couple of weeks, we really feel we're back to where we once were," St. Louis said. "I really feel like we're on the same page with our game, both in a happy place mentally."